She's the First Woman to Lead a Major American Orchestra | Bold & Untold by MAKERS
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Marin Alsop, The First Woman to Lead a Major American Orchestra
They should be household names, but instead they’re hidden figures. Not anymore. In our new MAKERS series, we highlight the activists, advocates, and all-around awesome women who have been ripped out of modern history books. These are fearless feminists who put man on the moon and girls on the pitcher’s mound; transformed male-dominated industries like finance and construction; and paved the way for others succeed.
Video Transcript
[ORCHESTRA MUSIC]
MARIN ALSOP: I can remember turning to my father and saying, "I want to be a conductor." When I told my violin teacher, she told me, "Girls don't do that." I was devastated. She said, "You can do anything you want to do and you can be anything you want to be."
To be the first woman to head a full-time American orchestra, then to chicken out and walk away? Not a good choice.
[APPLAUSE]
I feel very proud. But, I also find it somewhat pathetic that we can be in the 21st century and there can still be firsts for women.
It gives me an opportunity to create a culture where women feel they are entitled to step up to the top levels.
